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our 2017 respondents who are at least 60 years old grew

11 percentage points year-over-year to more than 28
percent, while those aged 50-59 years old ticked up about

1.5 points to 33 percent. Only 17 percent of our sales
respondents are under the age of 40 — down six points
from our 2016 survey. While this has to be a sense of
pride for those long-time industry veterans, it’s also a sign
of concern that more than 28 percent of our respondents
are at or near retirement age. That’s a lot of shoes to fill
fairly soon.

Not meant as a put-down, but our sales group is
typically the least educated out of our three pools, and
this year’s results validated that fact further. The amount
of our sales respondents who say they have no college
education has ticked up steadily in recent years, from 8. 5
percent in 2014 to 11. 5 percent this year. Forty percent
of this year’s group doesn’t have a college degree, down
a point year-over-year. In comparison, only 33 percent of
our 2015 group didn’t have a college degree.

Some other demographic stats from our 2017
sales group:

• 87 percent are male — this is identical to our 2016
survey, consistent with 2014’s 88 percent and shows
that 2015’s 97 percent male statistic was more or less a
one-year anomaly

• The largest chunk — 39 percent — work for companies
with at least $500 million in annual sales; 23 percent
are at companies with less than $25 million in sales; 23
percent are at companies with $25-100 million in sales;
and 14 percent are at companies with $100-500 million
in sales

• 31 percent are located in the Midwest; 28 percent are
in the South; 19 percent are in the West; 17 percent are
in the Northeast; and 4 percent are outside the U.S.

Travelling is synonymous with most salespeople, in
almost any industry. Our survey indicates this year’s sales
group travelled more often than the past two years.
Fifty-five percent of this year’s group say they spend
at least 20 percent of their job time travelling — up 10
points from our 2016 survey. Thirty-five percent travel

20 to 50 percent of the time, and more than 20 percent
travel more than 50 percent of the time. The amount who
say they don’t travel at all has declined steadily in recent
years, from 17 percent in 2014 to less than 10 percent
this year.

The amount of sales respondents who work on
commission has increased steadily over the last four
years, from 49 percent in 2014 to 55 percent this year.
Ninety-four percent of our sales group respondents say
they receive a base salary, and of them, the average

SalesWhat is your current base salary,in U.S. dollars per year?Sales35%Less than 20 percent9.7%NoneWhat percentage of your job timedo you spend traveling?